The draft is far away and both Seattle's needs and the 1st round draft board are far from settled at this point. That said, if the draft were tomorrow, who (or what position) would you predict Seattle drafts in round one? For the sake of this thread, assume that Seattle picks between 15th and 25th overall. Please provide an explanation (brief or otherwise) explaining your logic. This is not about who you want to pick, but about who you realistically think could be PC/JS's choice.

I predict that Seattle will draft a versatile defensive player that can man outside linebacker but also provide pass rush. It would be preferable if this player had size plus speed and could play the LEO if needed. A good example of this from last year's draft would have been Shea McClellin who went 19th overall (and was pretty high on John Schneider's draft board, fwiw). On a team that is so well stocked with talent all over the field, the closest thing we have to a true need is finding a replacement for Leroy Hill, who might be playing his final Seahawks season.

This year, there are three excellent candidates for that role in the first round: Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree, and Dion Jordan.

Jarvis Jones will likely be this year's Von Miller in terms of draft stock, so he's probably a pipe dream for us.

Ogletree is an OLB who's played in both the 3-4 and 4-3, and outside of Aaron Curry it's very rare to see those types of players going in the top 10 so I think he's got an excellent chance to reach our pick. Ogletree is a bit like Zach Brown last year but a much better natural football player. He's got good arm use and speed plus power as a pass rusher, which indicates he might be worth trying at LEO when Clemons is done. He's also got the speed/athleticism to play a Kam Chancellor type role. He's big, he's fast, he's smart, he plays hard, and he's versatile in all the right ways for Pete Carroll.

Dion Jordan is versatile but odd. He looks and moves like a big TE/WR tweener, but plays defense. I don't buy him as a top 10 pick as a DE. He has edge speed and long arms but not much else, and his long legs really hurt his short area quickness- which is of major importance for NFL pass rushers. However, Jordan has shown talent in press coverage and has the tools to be an intriguing LB/DB hybrid. His style of athleticism would serve him well as a blitzing LB. I could easily see Pete Carroll drooling over a player like Jordan as the swiss army knife of his defense. A player like Jordan could find use in almost any defensive package, and that's a big plus as Carroll is very substitution heavy.

Officially, I'd predict Dion Jordan. He's such a weird but interesting player with extraordinary size and speed. His ability to fill a variety of roles on defense makes him a safer pick. If Dion Jordan isn't available, I'd keep a close eye on Ogletree.

I would love to add a dynamic playmaker on offense or another solid pass rushing hybrid DE/LB. Bruce Irvin should continue to develop but I think replacing Hill could be a good move as well. I think Hill is our oldest starter on D? Correct me if I'm wrong. I bet PC/JS are looking at that position as well.

I'm starting to think Doug Baldwin is replaceable. I'd love if we could grab Tavon Austin in the end of round 1. He could return kicks while he learns to be 'an NFL receiver' and he just has that ability to break the big one any chance he touches the ball. He comes across as a PC/JS pick since he isn't a 6 foot 5 WR that most draft experts predict we grab and would catch people off guard. Hopefully this means Tate has developed into a solid #2 WR and Tavon could take over the slot like Percy Harvin.

Dion Jordan would also be a pick I could see them taking. Ridiculous athletic ability. Fits the mold for our D.

I'm still in the draft a WR in the 1st round camp. who that will be, i dont know.

If there's not a solid receiver available when we pick then i'd go either OLB, DT, or TE, whichever has the best value at our spot. I do agree with Kearly that Dion Jordan just seems like a Pete Carroll type football player, so that pick would not surprise me at all.

I'd love Ogletree in the first round, I really like the comparison to Zach Brown athletically. The main difference in my eyes is this kids a football player, plain and simple. He definitely passes the eye test, and really would give our LB core a huge boost. (Seriously, a Wright/Wagner/Ogletree LB core would be a feared group! ...Legion of Doom?)

I'm not usually a fan of WR's in the first round simply because the drop off to rounds 2-3 is usually much smaller then at other positions. I think Tavon Austin will be a very good pro, but I don't like how he fits in our scheme. If we were to go WR, I think Cordarrelle Patterson or Terrance Williams would be great choices, though might be reaches at pick 32 (heh, one can hope)

As far as Dion Jordon goes, I don't really get the hype with him. His size is definitely intriguing, but I can't see him being anything but a pass rush specialist. I don't think his lateral quickness is off the charts, so I'm not really sure where a natural fit for him would be. It would be pretty cool to see what Bradley would do with him though, I'm sure he could help out in some way, I'm just not completely sold based off his size alone.

I like Tavon Austin, but I just can't see it with Pete's love of bigger and how here in Seattle we kind of minimize the slot position. Guys like this are pieces you add when the team is already built, and we are not there yet.

I could see Ezekiel Ansah in that spot, a fresh replacement for Jason Jones. JJ is going onto his second year of being nicked all the time. No matter what, we have to get a long term answer at pass rushing DT. The Ghanan is my favorite, but I suspect that as the draft gets closer teams looking to repeat the JPP magic will take this decision out of our hands.

I like Ogletree, and with Seattle rumored to have been looking at Kuechly last year I would say it is possible.I still think Keenan Allen/Robert Woods/Justin Hunter are the strongest possibilities. Pete is in love with his new QB, and surrounding the guy with weapons has to be on his mind.

I could see the team drafting Tavon Austin, but probably not in the 1st. He's never going to be a #1. He'd be a slot WR in the NFL with excellent special teams contribution- kind of the WR equivalent of Leon Washington. I think Austin does fit what Seattle wants though- two-thirds of our current starting WR are 5'10" and under. We do not have a true speedster anywhere in our WR corps- and it's hard to find guys who run sub-4.4 while standing 6'3". If that's what Pete Carroll wants, it's Patterson or bust.

Austin is a very polished receiver and a potentially elite kick returner. He wouldn't "fix" our WR corps, but I'm one of the few crazy people that doesn't think our WR corps needs fixing anyway. I see Austin as a nice tweak that might not make the WR group elite, but who's total contribution would easily justify a round 2 selection. He'll be one of those nifty little players that might not be on a lot of fantasy rosters but will still make his team better.

Also, I still find JS's comments from earlier this year suspicious- saying that 2012 was not a good WR class. Bullshit it wasn't. I think what he really meant was that the WR he had his eye on wasn't in that draft class. Which means it was probably a WR who was having a good 2011 season but wouldn't be available until 2013. That's a pretty small list- among them Robert Woods and Tavon Austin.

One guy who just started his first game at guard (was a tackle), and looked great doing it, is Kyle Long (yes Howie's Kid). He is trying to get another year, but the kid is legit and going to be a great pro, and guard might just be his spot at 6'7 311 and athletic as hell. If he has to come out this year we could get him in the 3-4th round, next year he will be a first/second round pick.

Last edited by CPHawk on Tue Nov 06, 2012 5:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

kearly wrote:I could see the team drafting Tavon Austin, but probably not in the 1st. He's never going to be a #1. He'd be a slot WR in the NFL with excellent special teams contribution- kind of the WR equivalent of Leon Washington. I think Austin does fit what Seattle wants though- two-thirds of our current starting WR are 5'10" and under. We do not have a true speedster anywhere in our WR corps- and it's hard to find guys who run sub-4.4 while standing 6'3". If that's what Pete Carroll wants, it's Patterson or bust.

Austin is a very polished receiver and a potentially elite kick returner. He wouldn't "fix" our WR corps, but I'm one of the few crazy people that doesn't think our WR corps needs fixing anyway. I see Austin as a nice tweak that might not make the WR group elite, but who's total contribution would easily justify a round 2 selection. He'll be one of those nifty little players that might not be on a lot of fantasy rosters but will still make his team better.

Also, I still find JS's comments from earlier this year suspicious- saying that 2012 was not a good WR class. Bullshit it wasn't. I think what he really meant was that the WR he had his eye on wasn't in that draft class. Which means it was probably a WR who was having a good 2011 season but wouldn't be available until 2013. That's a pretty small list- among them Robert Woods and Tavon Austin.

I like what Im seeing from Cordarrelle Patterson..... I'd be happy with him as well.

CPHawk wrote:One guy who just started his first game at guard (was a tackle), and looked great doing it, is Kyle Long (yes Howie's Kid). He is trying to get another year, but the kid is legit and going to be a great pro, and guard might just be his spot at 6'7 311 and athletic as hell. If he has to come out this year we could get him in the 3-4th round, next year he will be a first/second round pick.

He played one of the most dominant games by an individual lineman i've seen. Impressive.

I like Barret Jones for his versatility and he will be availble and deserving of the pick, also i would take the TE from Notre Dame as he would be the first TE chosen so we would get value in the late 1st. They said the would have taken the safety last year from alabama if he was available and slide Kam to OLB which would be interesting compared to what is available if a stud strong safety was there again. What about moving up and getting the MLB from Notre Dame and sliding wagner to OLB?????? i like that better then the OLB you can draft??? all in all in the 1st get a great kid with a great head on his shoulders and schnieder sure is good at that.

"It takes a big man to cry but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man"

I picked Tavon Austin, somebody mentioned he's a smurf. Here I am thinking "wait a second... what about Russell Wilson? What about Robert Turbin? Doug Baldwin? Golden Tate? Marshawn Lynch? Obo? Leon W? It seems like the majority of our offensive playmakers aside from Rice and Miller are small and fast. I think you go BIG and fast on defense (or just big), but on offense, being smaller may be a benefit. Look at how bad guys like Darren Sproles and Barry Sanders have made guys look.

I think I'd be worried about our smallish receivers if other teams had our DB's... but they don't. Most teams have DB's that are around 5'10"-5'11" range. So a guy like Austin isn't a big liability. He reminds me of a VERY fast Baldwin that gets tons of catches and YAC.

SharkHawk wrote:I picked Tavon Austin, somebody mentioned he's a smurf. Here I am thinking "wait a second... what about Russell Wilson? What about Robert Turbin? Doug Baldwin? Golden Tate? Marshawn Lynch? Obo? Leon W? It seems like the majority of our offensive playmakers aside from Rice and Miller are small and fast. I think you go BIG and fast on defense (or just big), but on offense, being smaller may be a benefit. Look at how bad guys like Darren Sproles and Barry Sanders have made guys look.

I think I'd be worried about our smallish receivers if other teams had our DB's... but they don't. Most teams have DB's that are around 5'10"-5'11" range. So a guy like Austin isn't a big liability. He reminds me of a VERY fast Baldwin that gets tons of catches and YAC.

It just doesn't mesh with PC's philosophy. He wants big outside WRs and it seems we have Baldwin & probably Tate who would be better suited for the slot. Austin seems like a better version of both Tate & Baldwin... but

T-Sizzle wrote:It just doesn't mesh with PC's philosophy. He wants big outside WRs and it seems we have Baldwin & probably Tate who would be better suited for the slot. Austin seems like a better version of both Tate & Baldwin... but

Q: is that really a need?A: No.

Big WR isn't really a need either, so long as we have Rice/Edwards. Either way, I think a WR selection would be a bit of a luxury pick. Nothing wrong with looking at big WRs, but if JS really wanted that, then why did he poo-poo last year's WR class- one that was LOADED with giant WRs?

To be fair, the last draft didn't have a single WR that screamed surefire NFL superstar (Fitz, Megatron, etc), and this draft doesn't either. Most drafts don't. And unless you are getting a megastar WR, it's probably a good idea to not rely on that pick too much. Imagine how much trouble we'd be in if we had drafted Tate in the 1st round (he had a fringe 1st round grade before the draft) and then banked on him to be a #1? Imagine how much trouble Chicago might be in on offense if they had assumed Alshon Jeffery would singlehandedly turn their offense around? Or Arizona with Floyd or even Jacksonville with Blackmon?

I don't think Shark sees Austin as a surefire #1 or a guy that will make this offense elite- but he is a nifty player that fits an existing role in our offense and could provide solid, safe value.

So in that sense, drafting Austin seems completely sensible to me. Yeah, we don't exactly have a burning need for another short WR, but he would bring tremendous value to special teams and he'd likely be better than Doug Baldwin within a year or two as a #3 WR. I see Rice (if healthy) and Tate as long term fixtures, but Baldwin seems pretty shaky with so-so production and a body that is ridiculously injury prone (including college). So to me, Austin makes sense. I just think he's going to be a round two guy- though probably before our 2nd round pick.

Last edited by kearly on Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

T-Sizzle wrote:It just doesn't mesh with PC's philosophy. He wants big outside WRs and it seems we have Baldwin & probably Tate who would be better suited for the slot. Austin seems like a better version of both Tate & Baldwin... but

Q: is that really a need?A: No.

Big WR isn't really a need either, so long as we have Rice/Edwards. Either way, I think a WR selection would be a bit of a luxury pick. Nothing wrong with looking at big WRs, but if JS really wanted that, then why did he poo-poo last year's WR class- one that was LOADED with giant WRs.

To be fair, the last draft didn't have a single WR that screamed surefire NFL superstar (Fitz, Megatron, etc), and this draft doesn't either. Most drafts don't. And unless you are getting a megastar WR, it's probably a good idea to not rely on that pick too much. Imagine how much trouble we'd be in if we had drafted Tate in the 1st round (he had a fringe 1st round grade before the draft) and then banked on him to be a #1? Imagine how much trouble Chicago might be in on offense if they had assumed Alshon Jeffery would singlehandedly turn their offense around? Or Arizona with Floyd or even Jacksonville with Blackmon?

I don't think Shark sees Austin as a surefire #1 or a guy that will make this offense elite- but he is a nifty player that fits an existing role in our offense and could provide solid, safe value.

So in that sense, drafting Austin seems completely sensible to me. Yeah, we don't exactly have a burning need for another short WR, but he would bring tremendous value to special teams and he'd likely be better than Doug Baldwin within a year or two as a #3 WR. I see Rice (if healthy) and Tate as long term fixtures, but Baldwin seems pretty shaky with so-so production and a body that is ridiculously injury prone (including college). So to me, Austin makes sense. I just think he's going to be a round two guy- though probably before our 2nd round pick.

T-Sizzle wrote:It just doesn't mesh with PC's philosophy. He wants big outside WRs and it seems we have Baldwin & probably Tate who would be better suited for the slot. Austin seems like a better version of both Tate & Baldwin... but

Q: is that really a need?A: No.

Big WR isn't really a need either, so long as we have Rice/Edwards. Either way, I think a WR selection would be a bit of a luxury pick. Nothing wrong with looking at big WRs, but if JS really wanted that, then why did he poo-poo last year's WR class- one that was LOADED with giant WRs.

You can't really count Edwards, no way he is with us next year. Edwards gets little to no reps come gameday.

Ogeltree for me if he is available. I was kind of suspect when English suggested taking him in the 1st round, but I have changed my tune after having taken a look at his game film. English was spot on when he compared Alec Ogeltree to former Seahawks LB Julian Peterson. Ogeltree looks like an incredibly athletic LB and a natural pass rusher when given the chance. For me the prospects I am most intrigued with are (DE/LB) Dion Jordan, (WR) Brandon Coleman, (LB/DE) Alec Ogeltree, (DT) Star Lotulelei (DT) Jonathan Jenkins.

cover-2 wrote:You can't really count Edwards, no way he is with us next year. Edwards gets little to no reps come gameday.

Neither did Obomanu and he's stuck around forever. As long as Edwards remains humble and cheap, I see no reason why he can't stay. Although I suppose it's possible other teams snag him in free agency. Seattle received a lot of interest in Edwards at the deadline.

If Edwards does leave, Seattle could surf FA again for a cheap veteran WR with size to be a backup.

To be fair to your argument, there are some quality big WRs available. Mike Wallace plays big and will likely be a UFA. Patterson and Coleman are big WRs with great upside. Marquess Wilson has a chance to slide pretty far in the draft and become a potential steal.

If he responds well to the surgery, Brennan Williams. He is definitely a late first round prospect. The fact that he is said to be able to play both tackle spots with his intangibles, but is a true right tackle helps.